History

Carter Hall was born in the mid 1910s, the reincarnation of an Egyptian
prince named Khufu. Nothing is known of Hall's early life until, as an
adult, he received a gift from James Rock, an archeologist. Rock had sent
Hall a dagger with a crystal blade, and when Hall touched the blade, he
fell into a trance. In a dreamlike state, Hall saw the life of KhufuÑhis
lifeÑunfold as in the days of ancient Egypt:

Khufu was a member of Egyptian royalty opposed by a priest of Anubis,
Hath-Set. Hath-Set captured Khufu and attempted to torture him into submission.
Khufu escaped and fled Hath-Set, seeking his lover, Shiera. Hath-Set doggedly
pursued Khufu and one of his archers wounded Khufu just as the prince reached
Shiera. Hath-Set offered both the lovers as a sacrifice to the god Anubis,
using a crystal blade. As Khufu died, he swore to Hath-set that he would
return one day and it would be Hath-Set's turn to die.

When he awoke, Hall felt strange and left his house to wander the streets
of the city. When he passed a subway entrance, throngs of people emerged,
fleeing a disaster on the tracks. As he rushed to investigate, Hall ran
into a young woman, the reincarnation of his lost love, Shiera. The two
investigated the subway station to find the subway tracks being flooded
with thousands of volts of electricty, killing many of the passengers.
Hall vowed to investigate the cause of the disaster and took Shiera to
his home. Hall donned a mask of a hawk and wings made of Nth Metal, a discovery
of Hall's. He tracked the source of the electrity to the lab of Dr. Anton
Hastor, the reincarnation of the high priest Hath-Set. Hawkman destroyed
the lab, but Hastor escaped.

Swearing vengeance against Hawkman, Hastor used an ancient incense to
place Shiera Sanders in a deep trance and lure her to him. When Hawkman
returned to his estate, he found Shiera missing and smelled the intoxicant
Hastor had used. Taking a cloak of Nth Metal for Shiera, he returned to
Hastor's enclave and found him preparing to sacrifice Shiera on the alter
of Anubis. Quickly casting the protective cloak over Shiera, Hawkman turned
his crossbow on Hastor, mortally wounding him. As the castle burned from
the equipment that had been wrecked in the melee, Hawkman gathered the
unconscious Shiera, leaving Hastor to presumably perish in the flames (Flash
Comics #1).

Hawkman then became a regular feature of the New York City, battling
criminals such as Alexander the Great (Flash Comics #2) and the
Priestess Nyola (All-Star Comics #2). In late 1940, Hawkman was
summoned by Doctor
Fate to the shores of Dover, England, to join other American heroes
in fending off a Nazi invasion force. This event, and the subsequent showdown
with Hitler's Valkyries over Washington, led to the formation of the Justice
Society of America, with Hawkman as its first chairman. Hawkman remained
the lynchpin member of the JSA throughout World War II and was its longest-standing
chairman. Hawkman and Shiera (as Hawkgirl) joined the JSA in the pursuit
of a group of super-criminals organized by Ian Karkull to assassinate future
Presidents of the United States. As Karkull was defeated, he gave off a
radiation that imbued the assembled heroes, including Hawkman and Hawkgirl,
with increased longevity and vitality.

In late 1941, Hawkman joined the All-Star Squadron, an extended team
of American super-heroes confronting crime and pro-Axis forces on the homefront.
During the 1941 Christmas season, Hawkman discovered that Professor Hastor
had survived the destruction of his home and the stab wound inflicted in
their earlier conflict. Hastor disguised himself as an alien and threatened
Washington DC during a visit by British Prime Minister Winston Churchill.
Hastor was revealed and defeated in a spiritual duel between himself, Hawkman
and Hawkgirl. Hastor's ultimate fate is unknown, though he certainly died
before 1960 (All-Star Squadron #10-12).

Hawkman continued to be active in the JSA throughout World War II, though
he never saw much action beyond the homefront. At some point in the 1940s,
he married Shiera Sanders, as depicted later (Hawkworld #21). Hawkman
remained chairman of the JSA after the war, though the All-Star Squadron
apparently disbanded.

In 1945, Hawkman engaged the criminal optician Jonathan Cheval. Cheval
had been a law-abiding citizen until a group of bankers attempted to swindle
him into default on his mortgage. Cheval adopted the identity of the Monocle
and slew five of the six bankers. Hawkman prevented the sixth murder and
revealed the bankers' treachery. The last banker and the Monocle were later
sentenced to lengthy prison terms (Flash Comics #64).

In 1946, Hawkman journeyed to a hidden city deep in the Arctic regions.
This city, Feitheria, was inhabited by a race of winged bird-men of unknown
origin. While there, Hawkman exposed a political insurgent who intended
to introduce Feitheria to the outside world while deposing the current
leader, Worla. Hawkman cultivated a relationship with Worla and the two
became good friends. Throughout the following years, Hawkman kept the secret
of Feithera and visited frequently (Flash Comics #71).

In 1947, Hawkman first met one of his most frustrating adversaries,
the Gentleman Ghost. The Ghost claimed to be the shade of "Gentleman Jim"
Craddock, a highwayman from the 1800s. Craddock was hanged at the gallows
but went to his death swearing revenge. Much to his surprise, he emerged
in postwar America, where he resumed his life of crime. The Ghost used
a variety of gimmicks to augment his ghostly manner, such as leaving his
hat and cloak suspended from wires while he himself escaped. These antics
led Hawkman to the conclusion that the Ghost was simply a charlatan, not
truly a ghost (Flash Comics #88, 90, 92). It was revealed later,
however, that Craddock was indeed a genuine ghost (Hawkman Special
#1).

Hawkman was chairman of the JSA when it appeared before the House Un-American
Activities Committee in 1951. It was he who declared the JSA disbanded
when they were each asked to submit their true names and allow questioning
by the committee. The JSA departed that meeting via a teleportation effect
of Green Lantern's
power ring (Adventure Comics #466). In the post-Crisis universe,
this incident has been retconned to include a teleportation device of Thanagarian
design, given to Carter Hall by an associate, Paran Katar of Thanagar (father
of Katar Hol). It was further revealed that the Nth Metal used by Hawkman
is in fact of Thanagarian design (Hawkworld #21). After leaving
the HUAC meeting, Carter and Shiera entered retirement and pursued their
interests in archaeology.

In 1963, Shiera gave birth to a son, Hector, while on a dig in Egypt.
The Hall family also spent many summers in Feithera. During these times,
Hawkman adopted as godson Norda Cantrell, the son of a human scientist,
Fred Cantrell, and grandson of Worla, ruler of Feithera. Hawkman's own
son Hector tended to resent these times, for Norda could fly with his parents
and he could not (revealed in Infinity Inc. #1, #37). When Vandal
Savage captured several members of the JSA in 1963, Hawkman was among them.
When he was freed by the two Flashes along with the rest of the JSA, he
chaired the first meeting of the re-formed Justice Society. Hawkman then
resumed his active membership and chairmanship of the JSA. Hawkman was
a very active member of the JSA throughout the 1960s and 70s. Shiera, by
and large, remained inactive.

In the 1980s, Hector left home and attended college at UCLA. While there,
he fashioned a uniform of his father's Nth Metal which enabled him to defy
gravity. He donned this suit under the code-name of the Silver Scarab.
Along with several others of the JSA's wards, godchildren, and children,
Hector petitioned the JSA for membership. The younger heroes were rejected,
but they formed a new group, Infinity Incorporated, under the direction
of the Star
Spangled Kid (Infinity Inc. #1). Shortly thereafter, Hawkman
answered a call from Superman
that that resulted in his "drowning" in the river of Koehaha, Colorado's
"Stream of Ruthlessness." Hawkman then went on a maddened rampage, seeking
an ancient Egyptian secret of immortality, until the river's effect drove
him to return and confront the Ultra-Humanite. He was then cured and reconciled
with his wife and family (Infinity Inc. #3-10). When Infinity Incorporated
held its first press conference, the Silver Scarab revealed his identity,
and that of his parents, to the world (Infinity Inc. #12). Hawkman
remained chairman of the JSA, presiding during the "Batman Diary" hearings
(America vs. the Justice Society #1-4), and leading them into the
Crisis on Infinite Earths, where he was severely burned in an encounter
with Earth-1's Dr. Phosphorus (Crisis on Infinite Earths #9).

After he had healed in Feithera, Hawkman attended the memorial ceremony
for the JSAers who had fallen during the Crisis. From there the JSA and
the Halls entered Limbo, where they remained for three years (Last Days
of the JSA #1). While in Limbo, Hastor returned in the reincarnated
form of Jame Rock, an Egyptian woman. Hastor/Rock murdered Hector Hall,
transforming him into the foretold "child without a soul" (Infinity
Inc. #42-44). Hector's spirit then entered the dream world to become
the new Sandman (Infinity Inc. #49-51). When the Halls returned
from Limbo, they learned of Hector's death, and discovered that Lyta Trevor
Hall had disappeared with their grandson. They beseeched the Spectre to
return him, but the Spectre denied them and left them to their grief (Spectre
vol. 3 #21). Hawkman returned to his archaeological work, where he eventually
discovered an ancient tomb containing the sorcerer Kulak (Justice Society
of America #8). Kulak attempted to inspire a cult of hate against the
JSA, but the members defeated him (Justice Society of America #10).

Hawkman remained active with the JSA and he and Shiera (as Hawkgirl)
joined them as they prepared for their assault on Extant. At the critical
moment, however, they were whisked away and then fused with all other incarnations
of Hawkman (Zero Hour #3, Hawkman vol. 3 #13). When
Hawkman was banished to a form of Limbo (Hawkgod's Realm) following the
loss of control of his various incarnations by Neron, apparently the souls
of the Halls became "dislodged". Shiera's soul encountered the suicide
of her neice, Kendra Saunders and as the younger woman's soul departed,
Shiera's took the vacant body. The shift caused a change in eye color noticed
only by Kendra's grandfather, legendary adventurer "Speed" Saunders. Carter's
soul was left in the Hawk-Limbo until the take-over of the planet Thanagar
by Ominar Synn. Depeserate to save their planet, Thangarian rebels kidnapped
Kendra/Shiera and used her soul to attract Carter's to a portal to the
Hawk-Limbo on Thanagar. Carter was again manifested on the Earthly plane
and led the successful rebellion against Synn. This was the first time
however, the Carter and Shayera had not been re-incarnated to return to
mortal life and their relationship was now confused by the fusion of Shiera
and Kendra's memories. Carter also has a new body bearing little resemblence
to the original and strong memories (and assumptions) about his relationship
with Shiera that may or may not bear up to scrutiny. The results of this
new existence remain to be seen (JSA #21-25).

Powers/Skills

Hawkman used a pair of wings composed of a material alternately called
the Nth Metal or Ninth Metal. This substance defies gravity, permitting
its wearer the power of flight. Hawkman was also skilled in the use of
a variety of ancient weapons, which he preferred in combat.

Weaknesses/Limitations

Hawkman, without his gear, is a mortal man and can be slain or injured
as such.